


iFourthofJuly

by Ghost_Writer_SN



Category: iCarly
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:41:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25078540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_Writer_SN/pseuds/Ghost_Writer_SN
Relationships: Freddie Benson/Sam Puckett
Kudos: 11





	iFourthofJuly

Arriving home after a horrible day at work, Sam was more than ready to go inside and relax in the cold air conditioning. As she stepped through the front door, the ice-cold air struck her body, and while it was refreshing at first, when she sat down on the couch, she was instantly reminded why today had been so damn bad. Sam was in the process of attempting to extricate herself from the sofa when Freddie came downstairs, “hold on there, Mamacita,” he said once he saw her struggling. “Coming to my rescue sir-nubs-a lot,” Sam asked jokingly. Stopping in front of Sam, Freddie bowed down, “Malady is with child and appears to be in trouble,” Freddie responded with a grin and sounding like someone from a Shakespear story.

Any other day, Sam likely would have whacked him for what just transpired, but she gave him a pass, this time. Being eight months pregnant, coupled with the ungodly heatwave in Seattle, was bad enough. When you add in the fact that the air conditioning in her office was out of commission, well, it all made Sam miserable. Freddie offered his hand to help her up, but Sam refused it at first, “I don’t need help. I can get up by myself,” she said, making several attempts to do so. A small part of Freddie wanted to snicker while watching his wife struggle because of her stubborn streak, but he still remembered the last time he had done so. Amazing how a tiny lentil can make such a fantastic deterrent. “Come on, babe, let me help you up,” he tried once more, his hand outstretched. Sam finally took his hand and let him help her, “thanks, nub,” she said once up on her feet.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, pulling Sam in close for a kiss, “How are my girls today?” “Your girls,” she said sarcastically, “are exhausted, overheated, agitated, and in need of a change of clothes.” The smile disappeared from his face, “how bad was it?” Sam released the yawn she’d be fighting, “See, I told you I was exhausted. Can we talk about this after I take a nap?” “Of course,” he responded, kissing the top of her head, “I need to get the pool ready for the party tomorrow. Did you want me to wake you up when I finish, and then we can get dinner?” Sam looked at Freddie, confused, “party, what party?” “Tomorrow is the fourth,” he replied, thinking that would jog her memory. “Okay, why are we having a party though,” she asked, still thoroughly confused. “Fourth of July, Independence Day,” came Freddie’s reply, and as soon as he finished, Sam remembered, “damn this pregnancy brain,” she remarked, “let me go get changed, and I’ll help you with the pool.”

“Oh no, you won’t,” he responded, earning him a look of disbelief from Sam, “excuse me,” she exclaimed, not believing her ears. “Sam, you said it yourself, you’re exhausted, overheated, and agitated. The last thing you need is to be working in this heat.” Freddie knew damn well that he was flirting with fire, but there was no way he would back down on this. Sam was about to argue with him when she thought better of it. He was right; she was all those things, and honestly, she didn’t want to be outside right now, “fine, you win, but don’t let it go to your head,” she said. “I’d never dream of it,” Freddie replied, taking her hand and moving to the stairs, “now, go change into something comfortable and take a nap. I’ll take care of dinner and wake you when it’s time to eat, okay?” Sam’s face softened, “yeah, fine, and I never thought I’d say this, but don’t let me nap too long, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.” Freddie nodded, “don’t worry, I won’t let you sleep too long,” he replied, waiting for Sam to head upstairs.

Once Sam had disappeared into their bedroom, Freddie made his way outside to begin prepping the area. Half an hour later, Freddie’s phone vibrated, indicating a text had come in, “about time,” he thought to himself. Picking up the device, Freddie opened the newly arrived message, ‘does Sam suspect anything,’ the sender asked. ‘Not a thing,’ he responded, returning to the task at hand. An hour and a half later, Freddie finished cleaning and went back inside to wake up Sam and figure out dinner. Making his way to their bedroom, Freddie was going over the food possibilities for tonight and thought he had a decent idea what Sam would want. Opening the bedroom door, Freddie stepped in, and for a couple of minutes, Freddie stood there watching Sam sleep. Freddie loved watching her sleep, so peaceful, and even more beautiful, so much so that he hated waking her.

As much as Freddie wanted to continue watching Sam, it was dinner time, and he had promised to wake her once he finished outside. “Sam,” he called softly, kneeling next to the bed. “Sam, it’s time to get up,” Freddie tried again, but unsurprisingly his wife did not budge. Freddie began playing with Sam’s hair, something he knew she loved, and it had the intended effect as she began to stir. Opening her eyes, Sam smiled at her husband, “are you done already? How long was I asleep,” she asked, turning to sit on the edge of the bed. Freddie glanced at his watch before responding, “well, I was out there for roughly two hours, so I’d say probably an hour and a half.” Sam stood up and stretched her body out, “I’m craving fried chicken for dinner,” she stated, not suggested.

Once dinner was finished and everything put away, Sam and Freddie retired to the living room to relax on the couch. Before long, though, they were falling asleep, “come on, babe,” he said, yawning, “I think we should probably head to bed. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.” Freddie said, standing up and offering her help up for the second time today. Sam stood up on her own, “see, I can still get up on my own,” she said with a triumphant smile. “I never doubted it,” he responded, returning the smile, “but I have a few last things to take care of in the morning before everyone arrives.” Glancing at the clock, Freddie quickly realized that Sam’s surprise was in the air, probably over the Atlantic ocean by now, but still had more than twelve hours before it would arrive at the Sea-Tac airport for Spencer to pick up. 

Waiting for Sam to finish up and come to bed, Freddie messaged Spencer, ‘are you still good to pick up the ‘package’ tomorrow?’ Spencer must have had his phone in his hands as Freddie could see he was already typing, ‘yes sir! Sasha will head over to your place with the kids, and yes, we already came up with a good reason for why I’m not with them.” Freddie chuckled to himself as he typed, ‘thanks again for doing this Spence. Sam is going to be overwhelmed when she sees our surprise,’ and hit send. Sam had just stepped out of their bathroom as Freddie was setting his phone down on his nightstand, “something wrong,” she asked, tilting her head towards the nightstand and his phone. “Nah, just an email from the office, nothing that can’t wait until I’m back in the office,” he answered. While he disliked having to lie to Sam, he didn’t want to spoil the surprise that himself, Spencer, and Carly had worked for the last few weeks.

Climbing into bed, Sam turned to face her husband, “you know,” she began, scooting as close to him as her eight-month pregnant belly would allow, “We only have another couple of weeks before Lexi is born, and we won’t have very much alone time once she arrives.” Freddie knew where Sam was going with this, and there was no way he was going to pass this up or disappoint her. Sam and Freddie disappeared underneath the covers, but they didn’t fall asleep till much later. The next morning, Freddie was the first to wake up, but since Sam was sleeping peacefully, he didn’t want to wake her. Freddie lay there next to Sam, watching her rhythmic breathing, angelic face, hell everything about her continued to remind him just how lucky he was. It was then that Sam happened to move just enough to free Freddie’s arm. Slowly turning over, Freddie grabbed his phone and checked the time, ‘shit, I should have been up two hours ago,’ he thought to himself.

Thankfully there was still plenty of time to get everything finished before the guests began to arrive but only because Sam woke up and helped. Sasha, along with their two boys, was the first, “Sam,” Sasha called, making her way over to her for a hug. “I thought Spencer was coming as well,” Sam commented, not seeing the man that had been an older brother to her and Freddie. “Oh, he’ll be here, he had to go pick up some special package. He should be here in about half an hour,” Sasha replied. Freddie was amazed; Spencer had come up with a plausible reason for him not arriving with his wife and kids. The remaining guest, minus Spencer, and his unique “package” arrived and were now outside, with most of them enjoying the pool. Doing the best he could without being obvious, Freddie kept an eye on the time, and if everything was on schedule, Sam’s surprise should arrive in about five minutes.

Sure enough, five minutes later, Spencer’s familiar voice could be heard from the gate and the side yard beyond it, “anyone here,” he called out. Freddie could not help but smile at this point, “yeah, we’re back here,” he replied, walking over and opening the gate. “Sorry I’m late,” Spencer said as he stepped through the gate, “but I ran into someone, and they wouldn’t leave me alone unless I brought them with me,” he continued sarcastically. By this point, Sam had turned towards the gate, wanting to see just who was with Spencer. At first glance, Sam couldn’t see anyone behind the lanky Spencer, but then she caught sight of someone with dark brown hair. ‘Who could that be,’ Sam wondered to herself, popping another potato chip in her mouth after all the only person she knew with that color hair was Carly, and she’s stuck in New York. Stepping through the open gate, Spencer turned towards Sam and motioned for her to come over.  
Sam walked towards Spencer, not particularly sure as to why she was going to him, and not the other way around. “This better be good,” Sam called, scowling at Spencer, but still moving towards him and this mystery guest. Nearing the gate, Sam noticed that some of the guests were now watching her. It was as if they were waiting for a reaction; it was that moment that the mystery guest stepped through. Sam’s eyes went wide, “Carly!” she yelled, moving quickly to embrace her best friend, “Wait, I, aren’t you supposed to be in New York,” Sam asked excitedly, if not a little confused. The guilty look that graced Carly’s face spoke volumes to Sam; this was all planned, “so who came up with this idea,” she asked, looking from Carly to Freddie and back again. Placing a finger in the air, Freddie stepped forward, “that would be me,” he said, coming up next to his wife.

Sam turned to Freddie, and for just a moment he thought she might hit him, but was pleasantly surprised when she hugged him. “I take it you like your surprise,” he asked as Sam released him. “Chiz yeah,” she replied before turning back to Carly, “how long can you stay,” she asked, hoping it would be more than a day or two. Though she couldn’t see Freddie smiling, she did see Carly, “well, I guess it’s time for your second surprise,” Carly quipped. Digging through her purse, Carly pulled out a letter-sized envelope that had Sam’s name on it, “here, open this,” Carly said, handing it over. Sam opened it, pulled out a folded piece of paper, opened it, and began to read. Carly watched as her best friend’s eyes widened once again, “you’re going to be here until after Lexi’s born,” Sam asked happily. “Well, I wouldn’t be much of a best friend if I wasn’t here to help out after you’ve had the baby, now would I?”

Overwhelmed, Sam hugged Carly once more, “I’m so happy you’re able to do this, Carly, but what about your work? I thought you had to be in the office because of security or something." Freddie spoke up at this point, “I took care of that issue. It turns out that all I needed was one piece of equipment to meet their protocols, and once they verified everything, her boss was fine with Carly working remotely,” he answered proudly. Sam didn’t know how or when he had done it, but she was thrilled that he had. “Who would have thought you technical nubiness would come in so handy,” she teased, garnering laughter from those in attendance. Looking around, Sam couldn’t help but notice that people were still watching, “Okay, people, let’s get back to enjoying this party,” she said with a woot.

The next few hours flew by, and before everyone knew it, it was almost time for fireworks. Sam wanted to do fireworks in their backyard, but the Benson home was near a local park that did a fireworks show, and anyone here tonight would be in for a spectacular show. The fireworks had been going for fifteen minutes before the finale began. The explosions, the colors, the shapes, and the soundtrack, all started to rise in tempo until hitting its crescendo. Once the show was over, the guests that had kids started gathered their things to leave, since it was close to or just past their bedtimes. The guests that had no kids hung around a little longer, but everyone was gone by 11:00 PM, and Sam and Freddie were glad that the party was over.

Sitting in bed, Freddie waited for Sam to join him. “So, did you like your surprise,” he asked as she stepped out of the bathroom, “Duh,” Sam responded, making a weird face as she climbed under the covers, “but seriously, thank you,” she finished, leaning up and kissing him. “You’re welcome,” Freddie replied, yawning, “We’d better get some sleep, Carly said something to me about taking you shopping for the baby.” Sam rolled her eyes and chuckled, “that woman and her shopping, well, I guess I should go with her; after all, she is staying to help.” Freddie nodded, “good night, Lexi,” he said, placing a hand on his wife’s belly, “good night Sam,” he continued, placing one last kiss on Sam’s lips before turning the lights off. “Good night, nub,” Sam said, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.


End file.
